TT Chapter 38. First Love

Inside the empty classroom, the soft spring breeze slipped playfully through the half-open window, lifting the cream-colored curtains and scattering golden light across the desks and chairs.

Chen Ting clung tightly to Pei Yiyao’s waist, burying his face in his chest, and said with immediate resolve, “I was wrong.”

To admit one’s mistake and correct it was true virtue.

Pei Yiyao raised his hand and gently caressed the side of his face. “Look up.”

This was clearly the devil’s temptation, a tyrant’s command. How could Chen Ting possibly obey? He shook his head. “This is fine. Let’s just stay like this for a bit.”

“Kiss me.”

“That’s…”

Pei Yiyao sighed softly and stroked his cheek with the pad of his thumb. His voice was low and coaxing. “Chen Ting is not allowed to kiss Sherlock. But he can kiss me.”

Chen Ting’s ears flushed red in an instant. He abruptly lifted his head and stared at Pei Yiyao, fully convinced he was being seduced. There’s an old saying—don’t be afraid of a cool guy who’s cold, be afraid of a cool guy who knows how to play the game. And if this wasn’t playing the game, then what was?

“Sherlock isn’t real,” he protested. Which meant Pei Yiyao’s jealousy was completely unreasonable.

“But I am.” Pei Yiyao pinched his chin and kissed him.

The cream-colored curtains swayed and danced in the breeze. The sound of breathing, soft and irregular, was hidden in the wind. Even the setting sun grew shy upon hearing it and slowly, gently slipped behind the distant mountains, refusing to show its face again.

After that day, Chen Ting did not dare tease Pei Yiyao again for a long time. But Pei Yiyao only became more skilled in all manner of subtle tricks, or maybe he had always been one big game himself, and Chen Ting was already hopelessly tangled in it.

On Thursday afternoon, a sudden downpour trapped many students inside the teaching building, Chen Ting among them. The weather forecast had clearly said it would rain the next day, and yet here it was, pouring without any logic at all.

The dorms were not far from here. Chen Ting thought about braving the rain, but then remembered the last time he got sick and gave up on that idea.

“Ting Ting, how about you wait here for a bit?” Lin Juan, ever the dutiful class monitor, offered as she adjusted her bag. “I’ll walk Juanmei and the others back, then bring an umbrella for you.”

She showed no hesitation about taking care of the boys, and the gesture was natural to her.

Yang Shulin and Wu Yingwen immediately expressed their gratitude and declared they wanted to become sworn siblings with her, only to earn a dramatic eye roll.

But just as Lin Juan was about to step into the rain, a tall figure holding a large black umbrella passed by her shoulder. He walked up the stairs at a steady pace, folded his umbrella, and stopped in front of Chen Ting. He looked down and said, “I came to get you.”

A ripple of teasing murmurs spread through the group.

“Oooh, look who showed up…”

“His family’s here. His family’s here!”

“Here to pick up his man…”

A few girls in the class bumped Chen Ting’s shoulder playfully, nudging him to go already. Chen Ting, however, kept a perfectly serious expression and blinked innocently, as if he had no idea what they were hinting at.

“The umbrella’s big. Anyone want to come with us?” he asked.

Everyone shook their heads in unison, so perfectly timed that it drew a few smiles. Even they could not help laughing at themselves, and the sound of their laughter wove together like threads, as if it could drive the gloom away.

Just then, two more umbrellas passed in front of them.

“Well, if it isn’t our Saint Laurent junior.” A familiar voice came from beneath one of the umbrellas. As the canopy tilted back, Gao Duo’s smiling face appeared.

The moment he saw Gao Duo, Yang Shulin took a step back, instantly reminded of the torment he had suffered in the press corps. He glanced desperately at the person next to Gao Duo and cried out, “Gou Ge!”

Now that was a real hero. Gou Ge could stare down Gao Duo and even survive a few verbal rounds without breaking a sweat.

Gou Yi sighed. “Come here. I’ll walk you back.”

Yang Shulin had no particular desire to leave with them, especially not on foot. But the moment he saw Gao Duo’s ever-smiling face, he did not dare stir up trouble. Like a wronged little wife, he tucked himself under Gou Yi’s umbrella, careful to stand as far from Gao Duo as possible.

Gao Duo raised a brow. He truly had no idea what he had done to terrify people this much. He turned to Chen Ting. “Ting Ting, want to come with me?”

Before Chen Ting could reply, Pei Yiyao cut in with a frosty tone. “No need.”

Gao Duo spread his hands. “Such a waste of my big umbrella. Alright then… you there, want a ride to the dorm?”

He swept his eyes across the group, and landed on Wu Yingwen.

Wu Yingwen, completely unaware of Gao Duo’s fearsome reputation, lit up and ran under his umbrella, thanking him repeatedly.

Seeing that Gao Duo had backed off, Pei Yiyao said nothing further. He took the books from Chen Ting’s hands and said, “Let’s go.”

And just like that, three umbrellas and six people moved off together under the curious stares of the crowd, walking in formation through the rain.

Students from other classes who had only just realized what was happening turned their eyes toward Chen Ting’s classmates, wearing expressions of subtle disbelief. An entire English department class full of pretty girls, and not a single one got picked up. Meanwhile, the only three boys had all been claimed. What kind of class was this? Were they all gay or something?

No, no, no, no, no.

Lin Juan shook her head and, with deep affection, lifted Juan-mei’s chin. The two locked eyes.

“We should go too, my dear,” said Lin Juan.

Juan-mei nodded. “Of course. Wherever you go, I’ll follow. Darling.”

The two girls shared one umbrella, and their actions made it clear to everyone that this class didn’t just have boys into boys, it had plenty of girls into girls too.

Pei Yiyao came over to help and quietly handed him pieces of chalk. Whenever Chen Ting needed to stand on a stool to draw something higher up, Pei Yiyao would naturally press down on the back of the chair with one hand, positioning himself at just the right angle to catch him if he slipped. He stood there in silence, looking up at him.

A moment later, Chen Ting turned around and asked, “Do you think this line I drew is straight?”

Pei Yiyao nodded. “Straight.”

Inside the dorm building, guys from all departments and year levels came and went. When they passed by and saw the scene, they all silently shook their heads.

Not straight. It really did not look all that straight to us.

In short, and to make a long story short, no one was confessing to either of them this semester anymore. Occasionally, Chen Ting and Pei Yiyao would run into Tang Yin and her roommates at the dining hall, and the four of them could even sit down for a meal together.

Though Pei Yiyao seemed to dislike Tang Yin. Then again, he disliked a lot of people.

Tang Yin did not mind.

With the English Level Four approaching, Chen Ting also registered for the beginner’s interpreting certificate to get some practice. Since the testing site was not on their campus, Pei Yiyao, as the boyfriend, was of course going to accompany him the entire way.

Not many classmates signed up for this round, since most of them wanted to strengthen their fundamentals and wait until October to take it. But Chen Ting was confident. Written tests were never really a problem for him.

Yang Shulin, once again, became the unfortunate third wheel. Thankfully, Lin Juan and Juanmei were coming along too.

“How are we getting there? Taxi or subway?” Outside the school gate, Lin Juan checked the time. “We should hurry. It’s the weekend, and traffic might be bad.”

Chen Ting said, “It’s fine. We’ll definitely get there on time.”

Just then, a sleek black Hummer pulled up in front of them. The window rolled down to reveal Pei Yiyao’s sharp, handsome profile. “Get in.”

Lin Juan suddenly understood what Chen Ting meant.

Was this him showing off his boyfriend?

It kind of felt like it.

She and Juanmei exchanged a look and pulled matching strange faces before taking the initiative to drag Yang Shulin into the back seat.

Naturally, Chen Ting sat in the front. He opened various little compartments and pulled out an assortment of snacks to pass to the three in the back. Yang Shulin even found a small pack of marshmallows and, recognizing the packaging, asked, “Is this from that bulk-buy shop by the school gate?”

Chen Ting opened a small can of Wangzai milk and nodded. “Yeah.”

You two really are the definition of a domestic couple…

Yang Shulin grumbled inwardly and sighed once again at the bleak, lonely life of a single dog.

About forty-five minutes later, the car finally arrived at the testing site. The exam was being held at another university, and by the time they parked and walked in, the campus was already packed with students who had come to take the test.

There were so many candidates from different schools and grade levels that even the lawns were filled. With no better option, Chen Ting and the others sat on a stone step by the roadside to wait for the exam to begin.

The stone was cold. Pei Yiyao started to take off his jacket for Chen Ting to sit on, but Chen Ting quickly stopped him and leaned in to whisper, “I’m not the only one here, you know.”

Pei Yiyao said, “I don’t care about anyone else. I only care about you.”

The words warmed Chen Ting from the inside, but he still kept a straight face. “Either way, no. You should wear your jacket. We’re only sitting here for a little while. What could possibly happen?”

Across from them, Lin Juan and the others saw the two of them whispering again and immediately turned their heads with a few dramatic clicks of the tongue. They hurried to recite a few vocabulary words to cool themselves down.

Meanwhile, Chen Ting had just unknowingly set a flag for himself. He had insisted that sitting for a bit would be fine, but not even an hour into the exam, his stomach started to ache.

He subtly touched his belly and felt a bit of chill. Unfortunately, the invigilator happened to notice this motion and began eyeing him with suspicion.

Chen Ting had no intention of being watched while going to the bathroom, so he forced himself to hold it. Thankfully, the pain was still within tolerable limits. He clutched his stomach with one hand and scribbled answers with the other, feeling like this could be his most inspired performance yet.

Strangely enough, pain seemed to bring out the best in him. He remembered taking a physics test in ninth grade while in agony, and somehow ended up ranking first in the entire class.

Once the test was over, Chen Ting made a beeline for the restroom.

By the time he came out, Yang Shulin and the Juan siblings were already waiting at the exit. Judging by their expressions, they had probably done well too. Yang Shulin hurried up to him and asked, “Ting Ting, what happened? Diarrhea?”

Chen Ting nodded. “Might’ve caught a chill or something, but I’m fine now. Let’s go.”

The four of them walked out together. When they reached the spot where they were supposed to meet Pei Yiyao, they saw a beautiful young woman standing in front of him, smiling as she spoke.

“What the hell? Who is that?” Yang Shulin’s eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, where did this beauty come from? She doesn’t look like someone from our school,” said Lin Juan and Juanmei, joining the fun. Juanmei, sharp-eyed as always, spotted the emblem on her folder and let out a thoughtful click of her tongue. “She’s from B University.”

Yang Shulin raised an eyebrow. “So what if she is? Does she know Pei Yiyao or something?”

Chen Ting, the person in question, remained calm. He said nothing, made no move to go over, and simply stared at Pei Yiyao. He kept staring and staring, as if trying to project his thoughts across the distance through sheer willpower.

Pei Yiyao spotted him soon enough. With one long stride, he walked straight toward Chen Ting, not sparing the girl beside him so much as a glance. She was left standing there awkwardly by herself.

Chen Ting smiled with narrowed eyes. “Why didn’t you say goodbye to her?”

Pei Yiyao replied firmly, “I don’t know her.”

“Then why was she talking to you?”

“She was doing a survey.”

“Oh.”

“She asked me what age I had my first love.”

“So what did you say?”

Pei Yiyao reached over and ruffled his hair. “Right now.”

The three single dogs standing nearby quietly turned their heads away and resisted the urge to curse him out.